A mother who drove her Audi with her two young children inside while almost four times the alcohol limit has been banned from driving – as a magistrate blasted her decision as ‘reckless, foolish and irresponsible’.
Laura Lyons, 39, was breath tested by police after they found her dazed behind the wheel of her car in Urmston, Greater Manchester, on January 15, where she had pulled over after an apparent seizure.
The receptionist was arrested as a reading showed she had 132 micrograms of alcohol in 100 millilitres of breath. The legal limit is 35mg.
Inquiries revealed that Lyons had driven the youngsters in her A6 S-Line vehicle in order to drop them off with their grandmother and that she had been drinking ‘the night before’.
Laura Lyons, 39, was arrested on January 15 after she was found dazed behind the wheel in Urmston, Greater Manchester, with an alcohol reading nearly four times the legal limit
Laura Lyons pictured outside Manchester Magistrates Court with her husband Sean, who runs a successful tattoo business in Urmston
At Manchester Magistrates Court yesterday, Lyons admitted being drunk in charge of a car and was banned from driving for 32 months.
She was also ordered to a complete a 12 month community order, 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £180 in costs and surcharges.
Magistrate Joe Bangudu said: ‘It stretches the imagination as to why you took such a stupid, unrealistic and reckless decision to get behind the wheel after consuming so much alcohol. It is way too much.
‘We struggled here, I will be honest with you, there is no reason why a custodial sentence should not be handed out to you for this totally unacceptable behaviour.
‘The decision you took was reckless, foolish and irresponsible. You should never make a decision like this ever again.
‘You put people’s lives in danger including your own children, anything could have happened in that short distance.’
At Manchester Magistrates Court yesterday, Lyons admitted being drunk in charge of a car and was banned from driving for 32 months
Lyons was also ordered to a complete a 12 month community order, 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £180 in costs and surcharges
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Lyons, who lives in a £450,000 property in Flixton, near Urmston, is married to Sean Lyons – who runs a successful tattooing business which has featured on BBC, ITV and Channel 5.
Earlier in the hearing, prosecutor Miss Catherine Allan said police had attended Stretford Road in Urmston after an ambulance was called to attend to the defendant.
Ms Allan said: ‘She was in the driver’s seat of the motor vehicle and she had been carrying passengers but the car had stopped. It seemed she was driving her children but pulled over because she had a seizure, an ambulance was called who then rang the police.
‘She failed a breath test and was then arrested. She has no previous convictions.’
The two boys were safe inside the car and were picked up by their grandmother. Lyons is now getting counselling with the alcohol recovery organisation Achieve.
In Lyons’ mitigation, defence lawyer Edgar Fernando said: ‘This is a lady who is not going to be in court again. She has no previous convictions or cautions and clearly, she is distressed and upset about this case.
Lyons, pictured with her husband, has since given up drinking, is receiving counselling and she apologised to the court for her behaviour
‘The night before she had been drinking with a friend and the next day she was going to drop her children off at her mother’s home.
‘She has then driven the car a short distance and has then had a seizure or an issue where she could not drive. She pulled over and has called her mother to collect the children.
‘She is not drinking at all anymore and takes Antabuse, which means if she drinks any alcohol, it makes her feel very unwell.
‘She has worked with Achieve to make sure this does not happen again.’
Lyons took the opportunity to address the court and apologise for her offending.
Lyons told the hearing: ‘I am extremely sorry what has happened. It is out of character for me. I am sorry for everyone’s time, it definitely will not happen again.’
She will be offered a place on a drink driving rehabilitation course.
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